Vacuum Leaks

[solitaire]

My Sensible friend next door has convinced me to look for vacuum leaks to troubleshoot the idle issue i am having (high idle)

Last time i googled a solution i ended up with rope in my #1 cylinder (who remembers THAT post?)

so i thought i'd ask on here first, rather than after.

Suggestions online are:

1. Spray start ya bastard (or similiar) in areas while engine running and see if idle changes
2. As #1 but use propane
3. Smoke generator with a shop vac in reverse pumping air into the intake and wait to see where the smoke comes out.

thoughts? Do you guys do anything different?

cheers

chalkie

[Dell'Orto]

Engine start is my usual go to, works well. Smoke generators are dear!

[matt dunn]

Proper way to do it is with a proper smoke machine designed for the job.

They are becoming more popular now and most better workshops will have them,
as vacuum leaks are a big problem in modern cars.
We will smoke test any car that comes in with an Air flow meter or Mixture fault code.


You can do it with compressed air into the intake if you make a fitting,
just don't go too high in the pressure,
non turbo cars you would probably only want 5 psi or so,
or you will make leaks that were not there before.